Tag: Ryan Clark

Where did Ryan Clark put the New York Jets in his power rankings?

Ryan Clark ranks the New York Jets in his power rankings with Mina Kimes.

NFL analyst Ryan Clark has the New York Jets in a spot to make the playoffs this year. This, despite the fact that the Jets are the third-ranked team in the AFC East Clark’s rankings.

Clark made his projection about the Jets while appearing on the ‘Power Hour’ show with ESPN’s Mina Kimes. Clark, a Super Bowl winner who made the Pro Bowl in 2011, played 13 years in the NFL as a safety.

Much of the optimism about the Jets for Clark very obviously centers on a healthy Aaron Rodgers. Clark believes that if Rodgers is healthy, then the Jets can take that next step and be a solid team in 2024.

In talking about the Jets, Clark made sure to single out that head coach “Robert Saleh is a damn good defensive football coach. He really is.” He compared the situation of Saleh with that of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick:

“He had Tom Brady so there were times he could be hands off offensively and make sure he got stops Robert Saleh needs that and maybe Aaron Rodgers is that because Nathaniel Hackett is there because Aaron Rodgers is there. But if Aaron is healthy, you add in another young wide receiver so you’re at least are trying to give Garrett Wilson some opportunities to get one-on-ones. And if he’s not getting one-on-ones, you have people now who can get open with a quarterback who is among the best we’ve ever seen.

“So, I feel like it is good. We are where we were with the Jets last year, right? Last year with the Jets, we were like ‘This team is going to go to the Super Bowl, they’re going to challenge the Kansas City Chiefs.’ I believe where we have them now is about where they should be.”

Clark has the Buffalo Bills as the sixth team in his ranking and the Miami Dolphins at No. 10

Steelers legend Ryan Clark on the WWE: ‘Let me fight another analyst’

Ryan Clark isn’t opposed to the idea of getting in the ring with the WWE.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark attended his first WWE event on Friday night and he came away very impressed. Clark was interviewed after the event and was very impressed with the spectacle’s showmanship, athleticism and physicality.

The conversation then turned to whether or not Clark would ever want to join in on the action like many other former and current professional athletes have done in the past. Clark spent 13 seasons in the NFL and developed a reputation for being one of the most physical hitters in the league. Clark was with the Steelers from 2006-2013 and was part of arguably the best defense in NFL history since the Steel Curtain defenses of the 1970s.

But Clark understands he’s 44 now and would need to be mindful of how he did it. Clark noted he did not want to get into the right and fight any of the guys who get paid to be there but he said they need to let him fight an analyst. Do we want to see Clark in the ring?

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49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk continues to hint at playing with Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

Aiyuk was asked to guess which uniform he thought he’d be wearing in Week 1. He gave three possible answers.

Friday presented another turn in the Brandon Aiyuk/San Francisco 49ers drama.

The star wide receiver, who is set to play on his fifth-year option for the 49ers in 2024, has been at odds with the 49ers since the end of the 2023 season regarding a contract extension. The two sides aren’t close on a new deal.

Recently, Aiyuk said the 49ers told him they didn’t want him and called his good friend — Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels — to tell him the news. Aiyuk recorded the video and shared it on social media. Aiyuk and Daniels are close from their one season together at Arizona State in 2019.

All offseason, speculation has been rampant regarding Aiyuk potentially landing in Washington to catch passes from Daniels. The Commanders and 49ers did discuss Aiyuk, but Washington chose not to accept the proposed deal.

Fast forward to Friday. Aiyuk was a guest on “The Pivot” with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor. Daniels was among those who showed up with Aiyuk for the interview.

Clark asked Aiyuk to guess, he stressed “guess,” which uniform he thought he’d be wearing in Week 1.

“If I were to take a guess, probably a Niner uniform,” Aiyuk responded. But this is where things got interesting.

“If not a Niners uniform, probably a Washington Commanders uniform, if not a Washington Commanders uniform, probably a Steelers uniform.”

At this point, Clark tried to sell Aiyuk on the possibility of playing in Pittsburgh. Clark played eight seasons with the Steelers, but also had two stints with Washington that lasted a total of three seasons.

Aiyuk wasn’t done talking about Daniels.

“S–t, there’s a quarterback [Jayden Daniels] right there. I’m thinking about what I can do with him,” Aiyuk said.

It still seems doubtful that Washington trades for Aiyuk. For the Commanders and GM Adam Peters, it’s not about the money, but more about giving up the required draft capital. These aren’t Daniel Snyder’s Commanders anymore.

Here’s the full episode if you’re interested:

Former Steeler Ryan Clark vents about Steelers schedule

Ryan Clark wonders who in the NFL offices did this to the Steelers.

If you haven’t heard yet, the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule for the 2024 season is brutal. Probably the most challenging schedule in the NFL this season and for the Steelers, the toughest eight-game stretch I’ve seen since Mike Tomlin took over as head coach.

Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark didn’t miss it and he didn’t hold back when he went off about how the NFL could do this. “What dude from Cleveland, all of a sudden, got a job in the league office,” Clark said.

The final eight games of the Steelers season are an absolute gauntlet and it’s hard to see the Steelers winning more than one or two depending on injuries.

The Schedule lines up with Pittsburgh playing all six AFC North games during this eight-game stretch along with a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles and at home on Christmas Day against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Clark debate if Bills’ window is closed (video)

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Clark debate if #Bills’ window is closed (video):

ESPN NFL analysts Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark recently had the conversation many in Buffalo do not want to hear: Is the Bills’ window closed?

The answer is as interesting as it gets: Both yes and no.

Clark makes the point that yes, it is… but adds it’s not closed as long as the Bills change their identity a bit.

The full roundtable conversation can be found below:

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Giants great Tiki Barber fires back at ex-teammate Ryan Clark

New York Giants great Tiki Barber is firing back at Ryan Clark, who insinuated Barber was a bad teammate and didn’t embrace young players.

In the continuing war of words between New York Giants legend Tiki Barber and former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark — who are now both veteran media voices — Barber has answered the recent criticism laid on him by Clark over the departure of Saquon Barkley.

Barber, in tongue-in-cheek fashion, said Barkley was dead to him after signing a free agent deal with the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

Clark, in a congratulatory social media post to Barkley, ripped Barber as a bad teammate during the two seasons he spent with him as a Giant in the early 2000s.

Barber thinks Clark is making himself “sound like a fool.”

“Wow, Ryan Clark. You are making blank up,” Tiki said on his WFAN radio show last week. “Because you don’t know me like that, dude.

“I didn’t even realize how long you were on the Giants. Your first year, you were a practice squad player, and you were on the defensive side of the ball. What is he talking about, that I didn’t embrace young players? Ask Brandon Jacobs if I embraced him. Ask Derrick Ward if I embraced him. Ask David Diehl, or Richie Seubert, or any of those guys on my side of the ball if I embraced them. What the hell is he talking about? It’s like he’s fitting a narrative. He’s acting like I’m still a player when it pertains to my comments on Saquon Barkley, and he’s kissing Saquon’s (expletive) to ingratiate himself with Saquon. His comments make no sense because he’s not talking about someone he knows well enough to talk about.

“I honestly don’t remember interacting with him as a player. . . I thought he was a decent player, went on and had an okay career, won a Super Bowl, I give him kudos. But now that he’s the big wig at ESPN, he thinks he can just take shots, and his word is gospel? That Michael Strahan and Shaun O’Hara aren’t still my friends? What are you talking about?”

Barber wasn’t the only WFAN host to rebut Clark last week. Morning show host Gregg Gianotti blasted Clark, calling him classless and a “D-Bag.”

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Ryan Clark slams Steelers decision to roll with QB Kenny Pickett

Ryan Clark was no-holds-barred on Kenny Pickett.

Quarterback will remain the hottest topic of debate in the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ realm until their dilemma is laid to rest. And there’s no telling when that will be.

The ever-vocal former Steeler Ryan Clark, an analyst for ESPN, had this to say on Wednesday morning’s “Get Up” about what ultimately sounds like the Steelers rolling with Kenny Pickett heading into 2024.

What they’re going to do is they’re going to try to go out and get a veteran that can push Kenny Pickett. A veteran they can have an unbiased competition with. And if Kenny Pickett wins that, they can walk into the season and say ‘OK. We went out and we tried to improve at the position,’ whether it’s a Ryan Tannehill or Russell Wilson. And Kenny Pickett was a better choice than they were to lead the team this year. So now we have the confidence in the guy we drafted in the first round.

If they do all that, it is going to be on-brand for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s going to be dead wrong in this situation. You’re going to strap your team to a quarterback that can’t lead you to the promised land. The reason the Terrible Towel means something, the reason that six Lombardis mean something is because that organization was built on excellence. Kenny Pickett is not going to be your leader to the promised land of excellence. And if he’s not, I do believe it is time to do something different at that position.

The truth of the matter is, no one knows what Pickett can do under the guidance of a capable offensive coordinator. While he’s shown promise, he did previously struggle in key areas. However, until we see the big picture, it’s not entirely fair to be so harsh on the third-year quarterback. Many first-round signal-callers have taken years to develop, and some never do.

Pickett could surprise everyone in 2024. But in case he doesn’t, the Steelers really should have Plan B waiting in the wings via this year’s free agency and/or the draft. Kevin Colbert thought he did, but it was too little, too late. It would be a shame for them to make that same mistake twice.

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Raiders coach Antonio Pierce talks Magic Johnson’s recruitment of Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury

Antonio Pierce confirms, yes, Magic Johnson helped recruit Kliff Kingsbury to Washington.

As it turns out, Magic Johnson did help deliver Kliff Kingsbury to the Washington Commanders as offensive coordinator.

Two weeks ago, it appeared that Kingsbury was landing back in the NFL as the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders. Then, the next day, we heard Kingsbury was in the mix to be the next offensive coordinator for Dan Quinn and the Commanders.

What happened?

On Feb. 5, NFL insider Ian Rapoport went on the NFL Network to say it was Johnson — one of Washington’s minority owners — who helped Kingsbury decide the Commanders were the right fit for him.

We didn’t hear anything else regarding Johnson and Kingsbury.

Until this week.

New Raiders coach — and former Washington linebacker — Antonio Pierce joined “The Pivot” podcast with another former Washington player, Ryan Clark, where he was asked about Kingsbury ending up with the Commanders.

Pierce gave a nod to Johnson.

“National Football League, not for long,” Pierce said when Clark asked him what happened with Kingsbury. “So, you’re right; I thought we had a guy, but not for long. Til you put pen to paper, that’s the one thing I’ve learned. No different than in free agency. Teams are recruiting, and things are going on. Listen, Magic Johnson is pretty good. I guess he can still dish it out a little bit. If I’m losing to Magic, I’m ok with that. At the end of the day, if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. That’s fine.”

Here’s the exact clip:

Pierce and Clark go way back. Pierce entered the NFL in 2001 as an undrafted free agent from Arizona. Marty Schottenheimer gave him a chance, and he’d eventually become a starting linebacker. Clark joined Washington in 2004, and they instantly became friends as former undrafted free agents and unsung heroes on a terrific defense.

As for Johnson, it’s good to see the Commanders using every resource available, including one of the best athletes of all time, to help them land the coach they wanted.

Here’s the entire episode:

Ryan Clark says Sean Payton has ‘behaved as a thug’ with Broncos

“Sean Payton has behaved as a thug since he became the coach of the Denver Broncos,” Ryan Clark said on ESPN.

The Russell Wilson-Sean Payton fiasco has taken the NFL and sports world by storm, and Payton has decided to bench Wilson for the remaining two games of the 2023 season.

While the source of the conflict involved Wilson refusing to modify his contract, perhaps it comes down to the fact that Payton and Wilson may not be the best fit for the long term.

While reactions are strong on the internet, the likes of Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Nightcap, Colin Cowherd on his show The Herd, and other sports pundits have kept the topic in heavy rotation the past few days. ESPN’s Ryan Clark chimed in on Friday, stating that Payton “behaved like a thug” for how he has treated Wilson from the very beginning.

While we could debate the terminology that Clark used, it will be hard to deflate the perception that maybe Payton didn’t put his best foot forward in his relationship with Wilson.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
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Antonio Brown blasts ex-Steelers S Ryan Clark for ‘cancer’ statement

Antonio Brown did not apprecaite what Ryan Clark had to say.

There is no denying when it comes to wide receiver, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had their share of good and bad outcomes. Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark took it a step way beyond that when he was talking about current wide receiver George Pickens.

Clark called out many former Steelers wide receivers in comparison to Pickens including Antonio Brown referring to them as “a cancer in that room.”

Brown took some serious offense to this and took to Twitter to go after Clark big time. You can read the full post below.

The reality of the situation with Brown is he is right. And so if Clark. Brown’s entire career was a story of two halves. No doubt Brown is one of the best receivers in the Steelers history. Just based on the numbers he’s No. 2 but in terms of talent he was amazing. However, he was also a real problem that the rest of the team had to tolerate until he actively forced the team to trade him which lead to his completely meltdown to a Hall of Fame career.

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